Killer in the Forest
by Taylor'sgirl15
Summary: Bella meets a runaway fighter who has gotten into some trouble. He helps her find the guy who attacked her and finds his past and hers weren't so far away after all. Action, a little drama and some dark stuff. This is their epic adventure.
1. Ch1 Hunters

Summary:A trained killer is released onto the world. He knows nothing but death and the art of torture. He is found by hunters in the forest. They attack and he does the only thing he knows how to do. One of them gets away and the whole town is freaking out about this 'serial killer' that was found in the forest. Bella is hanging out with her best friend Jacob going for a hike when they hear something, they get scared and turn back. Bella swears she saw someone out there and returns alone to investigate. What will happen when she finds the killer? A/H and probably OOC. E/B.

A/N: Okay so this is my first fan fic and i know that it might totally suck. Constructive critisism is always welcome. Also I may not be able to update as much as some authors do because of school and everything. Please tell me what you think. Should I continue this story or let it drop? Happy readings!

EPOV

"Everyone is evil, my dearest edward. They all deserve to die. I am the only one you can trust my boy. I tell it straight. I will always tell you like it is." I had heard this promise from my father of sorts every day for my entire life. He was the only one who hadn't let me down. The only one who had kept his promise. The only one that loved me.

He's dead now. They came and got him. He always told me that if anything ever happened to him, that I should get out and do my best to take care of myself. He said he knew I'd do him right, that he taught me well.

I ran when I saw them coming towards him and shooting him. I ran until my legs wouldn't carry me any farther. After about two days of running I came across this highway. I started walking on the side of the road hoping that someone would offer me a ride. My legs were tired and I hadn't eaten in three days. I didn't have time to eat the day he was killed.

This highway seemed like it was pretty much abandoned. I only saw one car in the first few hours and they had sped up as soon as they saw me. I didn't expect anyone to be nice. I knew better than to expect that. I just thought someone would have a sudden burst of sympathy or stupidity and offer me a ride. I didn't know where I was going, but I knew I'd get there a heck of a lot faster in a car.

I finally decided that it was useless to wait for someone to come along on this rode and decided that I'd have better luck out in the forest. I was trained in survival. How hard could this be? My rite of passage had been to survive two weeks out in the forest, and I was only eleven. I would definately be more in my element out there.

_______________________________________________________________________

Surviving in the forest wasn't nearly as easy as I had thought. The only things I had on me were a small dagger, a lighter, a paper clip and a rubber band. Sure, I could kill a man five hundred different ways with these items, but I had no idea what to do with them in terms of survival. I suddenly realized that the two week survival test in the forest was a whole lot easier than this. First off, I had a fair amount of supplies, including a handbook telling me which plants were eible and which ones could be used to make a bomb(My father had writen the book himself, which also made it a lot harder to match the plants with his descriptions). Also, I had grown up in that forest, I knew every tree, every rock, and every stream that ran through that property. Now, I was in a foreign place, with no food, no water, and no idea where the heck I was.

At some points I was even pretty sure that I was traveling in circles, but I didn't know this place well enough to be able to tell if that was true or if it was just me panicking. I quickly tried to calm down and make sure i didn't panic. That was one of the rules. There was quite a list of them and I knew them all by heart. Rule number one: never panic. Rule number two: always carry a knife. Rule number three: don't trust anyone, especially if they have a gun. Rule number five: always carry an inconspicuous back up weapon. Those were the main rules. They got more specific as they went on and determined how to fight and the easiest way to kill. I made sure I had followed all of the rules. Don't panic? Check. Knife? Check. Don't trust? Well there was nobody aroud so, check. Inconspicuous backup? Check, in the form of a paper clip.

The main thing that HE used to always tell me was: "No matter if you forget everything else I have taught you, never forget this. When in doubt, follow your instincts. You have always had amazing instincts and I know that that will do you well in the future."

My human half checked out as if I was going in for a job, and I gave way to the monster. He always did have a way with keeping us alive. The last conscious thought I had was 'Is that a fire?' and then my mind went blank.

Hunters' POV

"What was that noise? Did you hear that?" Bill was always overly paranoid on our hunting trips, especially scince there was talk of some bear that had been around. The funny thing is nobody has actually seen this bear, they just claim that they heard him in the woods and had seen glimpses of him.

"Don't worry about it Bill. You know all those hunters are liars. I bet you it's a deer they saw." I said, laughing. But then my laughter cut short. I heard something. It sounded like the russling of leaves and gentle snapping of twigs.

"John, are you okay?" I shook my head and signaled for him to grab his gun. We crept out into the night searching for whatever creature had made that sound.

All of a sudden, out of nowhere this loud _thwak_ sounded through the forest. I spun around in that direction and started quietly edging my way towards where the sound had come from. Bill was just about shaking with fear at this point. He had always gotten nervous on these camp out hunting trips. Then another _thwak _sounded nearby and Bill fired. In his panic, he missed by a long shot, shooting about five feet off of the direction the sound was coming from.

The russling we heard earlier stopped, and the entire forest seemed to go silent at the sound of the gun. The next thing I saw was a young boy, maybe in his late teens, coming towards us. I was momentarily relieved. That is, until I saw his face. He had this look of pure hatred and rage, his teeth were barred and he was growling like a mad dog. I quietly put my gun down and started to back away. I pleaded to Bill with my eyes to follow my lead. He was so paniced and scared that he dropped the gun and a round went off.

The boy darted forward with amazing speed and grabbed Bill by the collar. I tried to tell him that Bill hadn't meant to hurt him but he just glared at me and put me down with a side kick. The world went momentarily black. I had the strangest dream. I could hear someone muttering in the background and I could hear Bill's faint pleas to spare him. My eyes fluttered open and I saw the kid move gracefully towards Bill and snap his neck with one swift movement. The blackness surrounded me again, and I prayed for a different, less fightening dream to overwhelm me.

I awoke to a briliant light shining in my eyes. I slowly stood and found that my head, back, and abdomen still hurt. I couldn't quite remember what had made it hurt but I knew that something bad had happened. I turned to take in my surroundings and nearly doubled over with nausia. Bill's lifeless body lay limp against the trunk of a tree about ten feet away from me. His neck and arm were both bent at impossible angles and he had a large bruise across his face.

The events of last night came flooding back to me and I suddenly went light headed again. I stumbled back to our campsite and dug around for my cell phone.

"Forks police, Chief Swan speaking."

"Hello? Chief Swan? Um, I'd like to report a murder."

EPOV

I came partially back into consciousness. I knew there was something wrong, that what I was doing was wrong, but I couldn't seem to get a grip on anything. I vaguely remember seeing a man in a flannel shirt. He seemed to be pushed up against a tree. My human side wanted to go out and help him. But the monster whispered sweet nothings and put that side to rest with a promise that he would take care of everything. I silently drifted back into the darkness and let the sweet ignorance wash over me.

The next thing I knew, the man I had seen before was lying at an awkward angle against a tree. There was another man, about ten feet away that seemed to be unconscious. I turned and ran, desperate to get away from whatever had done this. The monster smiled sweetly and silenced my thoughts with whispers of ignorant bliss.


	2. Ch2 Hiking

A/N: Okay just in case you were wondering the 'father of sorts' from the previous chapter isn't Carlisle. Well I actually haven't made up my mind about that but for now just assume that it's not Carlisle. Okay so this chapter might be boring but whatever it's necissary for the story and introduces Bella and Jake. Also, remember this is my first story so if it totally sucks, well, that's kinda expected. I wasn't sure where to end this chapter because I was't sure if I wanted Charlie to tell them about the call that he got the night before about some mysterious boy in the woods that killed a hiker, or if he would save that until he found out that Bella was going looking for him. Anyways, just giving everyone a warning so you don't tell me 'omg this story sucks' so i can just say 'well i did warn you.' lol I really hope you enjoy the story despite the crappy and/or corny writing. 3

Disclaimer: If I owned Twilight, Jacob would be mine : ). Too bad. Darn Stephanie Meyer and her amazing characters!

Chapter Two: Hiking

BPOV

I thought about Jacob and our friendship as I drove the familiar road to La Push. We had been friends since we were five and that had never gone away. Even when I told him that I was trading him in for Jessica in the third grade. He took me back when she dumped me for the new girl. Some friend she was. But Jake always had my back, even if he was going to get killed for it.

"But Bells, you know the chief will kill me if I do that!"

"Please, Jake? I really want to go hiking today. Now, how often do you think that's going to happen?" He chuckled then sighed.

"God Bells, when am I ever going to learn to say no to you?" I smiled.

"Hopefully never."

"Are you sure you want to do this now? I mean there has been a lot of talk about that bear. And with you by my side I'll just be begging that bear to take a chunk out of me."

"Are you implying that I attract danger?"

"No, I'm saying you attract danger. No wonder the chief is so protective of you."

"Ha ha, very funny. I'll be there in a few minutes, don't forget your hiking shoes!"

"Yeah and the first aid kit." He hung up before I could chew him out for that remark. Oh well, I'll have all day to do that.

Five minutes later I pulled up to Jake's house. He was outside before I could even park, probably because you could hear my truck coming from a mile away. True to his word, he had a good sized first aid kit. He was smiling like a fool.

"Have fun hiking with that thing." I said with a smirk when he reached my truck.

"Oh, Bells, you know I can last longer carrying this than you can hiking." I stuck my tongue out at him. "Very mature."

"Whatever, let's just go."

We hiked for a couple of hours until we came across this beautiful meadow.

"Wow, it's beautiful!"

"Yeah, we should hang out here for a while before we head back."

"Yeah that sounds great."

We began exploring and talking. Jake is really great to talk to, we spent the next couple of hours exploring and talking about everything. Then I heard a russling sound.

"Did you hear that?"

"Oh now she gets scared, after we go hiking in the bear infested woods."

"Seriously Jake. Listen, there it is again.... Let's go check it out."

"So now she wants to go looking for the thing that she thinks is making creepy noises in the woods. You seriously have no sense of self preservation."

"Shut up and follow me."

I started walking towards the sound. I knew Jacob would follow me, and there was a telltale snapping of a twig behind me to confirm it. "Would you keep it down Jake? You might scare it away." I whispered at him. I'm not sure but I think i heard him mumble something like 'good, then we'd live to tell the story'. I rolled my eyes. Typical Jake.

The russling sound had stopped but I knew that we had to be close. There was a few charred leaves inside a ring of rocks. Hm, it must be a human then.

I caught some sudden movement out of the corner of my eye. It was something reddish brown, hair maybe? I'm not sure, but it did look a hell of a lot like a person. I coul tell Jake was getting nervous by then and decided that I probably wouldn't find much more out here. I silently signalled Jake that we were turning back and he sighed in relief. I waited a moment before I followed behind him, and was almost grateful that I did. I saw the person from before, standing not too far away, partially concealed by bushes and trees. Almost, because those emerald green eyes were dark with unjustified hatred and anger. I quickly caught up with Jake and suggested that it was getting late and we should head back.

Jake gave me a strange look but quickly agreed, not wanting to get into any more trouble with the chief. When we pulled up to Jake's house I was sure I was dead. The cruiser sat out front and I briefly caught the curtains fluttering back into place. I took a deep breath and turned to Jacob who sat there with the same 'I'm so fucking dead' look on his face.

"Alright, don't panic, we are still innocent until proven guilty." I reassured him.

"Since when."

"Well, either way it won't help our case if we're freaking out." He nodded his agreement and we both stepped out of the car.

"Hey Bells, Jake. Billy invited us for dinner." I had to stop myself from sighing in relief. "So what did you two do today?" Great, I should have known that was coming. Thankfully Jake stepped up and save our butts with some humor.

"Oh, nothing. Just set off a few home made bombs, robbed a few banks, and ran over an old lady. What about you?" He said it so seriously I almost would have believed him... ya know, if it wasn't Jake.

"Oh, about the same." We all laughed.

The rest of dinner passed with talk and laughter and Charlie forgot all about what Jake and I had done that day. But there was something in the back of my mind that kept pulling me back to those emerald eyes...


	3. Ch3 Mystery

A/N: Okay so Bella is going to be a little out of character because, well, she's too weak. I'm sick of her not being able to stand up for herself and being 100% perfect. She's still a pretty 'goody-goody' type of girl but she can also stand up for herself. Also I just wanted to say that if there is anyone out there (I know there's at least two because I got story alerts) please review! I really don't know what I'm doing sometimes and I just need a push in the right direction. Bella meets Edward in this chapter and I hope it's not too disappointing because it's not some big moment like some people might expect. Also sorry for not updating sooner, I haven't been able to even touch my computer for the last couple of days. Plus school sucks so... yeah. One more quick note: this story is rated M because I'm paranoid and also because of later chapters when we get deeper into the inner workings of Edward's psyche. It might be a little disturbing. Plus the fact that he's a killer... so ... yeah. No lemons. Anyways REVIEW! It only takes like two seconds. Love y'all and enjoy!

-Taylor'sgirl15

Chapter Three: Mystery

The next morning I woke up to the sound of a very frustrated Charlie arguing with someone on the phone. I went downstairs to find out what was bothering him. I didn't like it when he was stressed out.

"Good morning dad." I greeted him

"Morning Bells. Hey listen, I know I was supposed to be off today but I just got a call to go down to the station. I'm sorry Bella, I know we were supposed to hang out today but this sounds pretty important.

"Don't worry dad. I understand. What's going on that's getting everyone so worked up? If you can tell me of course."

"Yeah, well there's some stuff going on with hikers and hunters in the forest. We don't really know what though, at first we thought it was bears or wolves, but I got a call yesterday morning about a murder. Bells there might be a serial killer loose in the forest. Just promise me you'll stay out of the woods."

"Wow Dad, it seems like they really need you for this one. We can hang out some other time. And I promise to be careful." I hoped he didn't notice that I didn't promise to stay out of the woods. I needed to see that strange boy again. I needed to find out what he was doing out there. And I needed to find out why he was so mad at me.

"Okay, well I have to go now. Oh, and do you mind going to the store a little later, we're pretty much out of food."

"Sure, good luck at work dad." He grabbed his gun and left.

I raided the fridge for a while before I realized that we really didn't have anything to eat. Oh well, I was up now, might as well get to the store.

I quickly went upstairs to shower and get ready. I grabbed my phone and my wallet and I was out the door. I went to the store and started shopping for the week. About half way through I got a brilliant idea. I grabbed some cereal bars, an apple, and a few treats and threw them in with the rest of the food.

After I checked out I went home to put the food away before I went through with my plan. I would only have a few hours, so I had to get going. I finally got everything put away and jumped in my truck with the bag of snacks and took off towards the highway. I turned off onto the familiar road to La Push and was practically speeding because of my excitement.

I finally got to the familiar hiking path and started my long journey to the meadow. Usually the hike took about two hours, but since I was practically running there it took an hour and a half. I would have been there sooner if I hadn't had to get up and wipe the dirt off my pants every five minutes or so. I finally reached the meadow with only minimal damage to the food. I began wandering around looking for that strange boy again.

After about a half an hour I realized that I hadn't eaten at all today. I took out one of the cereal bars and started unwraping it when my stomach growled, fairly loudly I might add. I burst out laughing, unable to control myself. My stomach always grew talkative at the weirdest times. Just then I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. I tried to control my laughter until it was a giggle so I wouldn't scare the poor kid.

I stepped forward slowly and held out the cereal bar. I figured he must be starving. Slowly but surely he started walking towards me. I smiled and gestured that he should take the bar. After a few minutes he stopped about five feet away from me. I held out the bar to him again and he hesitantly reached out to take it. He grabbed it quickly and stepped back again. I had to bite my cheek to keep myself from laughing. I couldn't believe that this guy was scared of me. I was probably the weakest, least threatening person you could ever meet. Of course I knew how to defend myself pretty well to, but I knew nothing about offensive fighting.

He saw that I was struggling not to laugh and looked at me curiously. I blushed cimson and dropped my head. He was reluctant to eat the bar to say the least, but once he deemed it safe he swallowed it in two bites. I signalled for him to stay where he was and went back to grab the rest of the food I brought him. He looked at me stunned for a moment before he took another bar and ate it, a little slower this time.

I sat on the round leaning against the tree and invited him to sit down across from me. He hesitated and gave me a speculative look before he somewhat reluctantly complied. I grabbed a chocolate bar and tossed the bag over to him. He gave me another weird look before taking it and going through the contents. I peeled the wrapper off of my candy bar and began to eat it slowly, watching this odd fascinating boy who sat across from me.

"My name is Bella." I finally broke the silence. He looked back up at me.

"Why did you bring me food?" his velvet voice replied.

"Well, the typical answer would be telling me your name but I guess I just figured you would be hungry." He blushed a little at his outburst.

"I'm Edward... When did you see me?"

"Yesterday when I came here to hike with my friend. I thought you noticed me, you seemed pretty angry about something." He stared at me in confusion. I sighed realizing that I had actually worn make-up today. I never looked the same with make-up on.

I pulled out my purse and he tensed a little. I froze. He relaxed and I slowly took out my compact mirror and some make-up remover. He looked at me like I was crazy but didn't say anything. I realized that he never fully relaxed until I put everything away. Odd. When I finally finished taking off my make-up I tied my hair in a messy ponytail and looked back up at him. He seemed confused for a moment but there was a sudden realization in his eyes.

"Oh." he said in surprise.

"Yeah I know." Nobody ever recognized me when I had make up on. I'm serious, the first time I put on make up Charlie came home and almost kicked me out of the house thinking I had broken in before I explained that it was me. We stared at each other for a while in silence. Not sure if we should trust each other. Every once in a while I would see that unexplained flash of anger in his eyes. It always faded away though.

"So why were you so mad yesterday?" He looked down, contemplating his answer. He finally looked back up at me after a minute or two.

"I was mad at you really." I was shocked. Why would he be mad at me? I had only just met him.

"Wh-why would you be mad at me? I didn't do anything to you. Heck I just met you!" There was a long silence. When he finally answered it was so low I don't think he even thout I would hear it.

"You made me trust you."

I sat there stunned. I hadn't asked him to trust me. I hadn't even talked to him until a little while ago. I glanced at my watch and figured it was time to get back home. I didn't want Charlie to get home before me and freak out. I started to pack up my stuff when I realized that Edward had tensed and seemed to be slowly reaching for his waistband. Only then did I realize the dagger that was held there. I stopped, frozen in fear. He seemed to notice my discomfort because he quickly dropped his hands and stood leaning against the tree.

I returned to packing my things. I got up and brushed myself off.

"I need to get home before Charlie sends a search party out for me." I said trying to add some humor to the tense moment. He nodded, seeming shocked at the mention of the serch party. I started to walk back towards the meadow when I remembered something.

"Hey! I forgot something." I said reaching into my pocket. He tensed again but I didn't care this time. I threw the object to him.

"A lighter?" he said confused.

"Yeah, to make a campfire. I know how cold it can get here at night." I said smiling at him. He gave me another one of his signature confused looks before testing it and pocketing it.

"Er, thanks." He said kinda awkwardly. I figured he wasn't used to being given stuff.

"Of course." I said smiling. I turned and started heading back. "I'll see ya tomorrow!" I called over my shoulder. I couldn't resist the urge to turn around and see his reaction. It was priceless. He stood there open mouthed in complete shock. I smiled turning back around to continue the hike back to my truck.

I wasn't joking. I fully intended to come and visit him as much as I could. He would need supplies if he was going to survive out there, and I was going to help him.

That night I dreamed of trees and fires and mysterious green eyed strangers.


	4. Ch4 Insanity

A/N: Okay so I don't want to spend too long on the visits because it just kind of slows the story down. This chapter is going to be pretty much fun stuff but it's just the calm before the storm. We will (well more like Bella does) meet the darker side of Edward in the next chapter and soon we might meet the people who killed Edward's "father". Again sorry about the long waiting periods for updates but school sucks and I'm already supposed to be doing homework right now so... yeah just bear with me please.

-Jenny C. (aka: Taylor'sgirl15)

Disclaimer:

me: So Stephanie, your Twilight books are pretty popular

Steph.: Yeah, I never expected this kind of success

me: so...*figits nervously* if I let you keep all the money would you let me have Twilight?

Steph.:*hysterical laughing* Not a chance

me: just Edward then?

Steph.: um... no. but you can borrow him if you'd like. I still own him though.

me: *squeals of joy* yea! OMG I LOVE YOU!!!!

Steph: I know, but I think your readers want you to get on with the story already

me: oops *nervous laugh* yeah I guess so.... *to readers* Um the story's right below this... um, i'm gonna keep talking to Steph while you all read so enjoy!

Steph.: Oh by the way you guys should really review, she doesn't exactly know what she's doing and needs your help

me: Steph! I thought we agreed we weren't going to mention that! I don't want to pressure them!

Steph.: Whoops!

me: grrr. since you owe me for spilling that to my readers can I have Edward?

Steph.: no

me: Emmett?

Steph.: No way he's way too awesome to give up

me: Alice?

Steph: Hell no, Alice is the best character i have!

me: hmm... Jasper?

Steph: no way

me: Jake?

Steph.: ... well, he's not that big of a character, and i can tell he means a lot to you.... but still no

ME: grrrr! fine! but the least you can do is give me Carlisle.

Steph.: he's not even in this story

me: you don't know that.... *to readers* do you seriously have nothing better to do than read this silly disclaimer? I mean I did work pretty hard on the story and you still think this is more interesting. fine i'll shut up and let you consentrate.

Chapter Four (uh i didn't know what to call this chapter)

Insanity: doing something over and over again and expecting different results.

Well that's how I feel right now. I keep swinging the bat at the baseball that's hurtling towards me at eighty miles per hour and expect to miraculously hit the darn thing. Charlie decided to make up for not being able to hang out with me last week by bringing me to the batting cages. And all be damned if that ball didn't curve ot of the path of my bat every time.

I finally convinced Charlie that I'd rather watch and get him drinks than commit suicide by trying to play baseball. He laughed but agreed. Don't get me wrong I'm not a complete loss when it comes to sports. I make a pretty good basketball player and i'm pretty good at almost anything that doesn't involve swinging at some type of ball or running on the wet grass. I'm even a good fighter. Renee signed me up a couple of years ago because she thought that I needed to learn how to protect myself. I ended up loving it and stayed for a few more years until I moved out to Forks with Charlie about two years ago.

So here I was, sitting around watching Charlie hit the baseball and running to grab him a coke every so often. I decided that I was going to go visit Jake. I hadn't seen him in a few days since school started last week. Plus I've been spending all of my free time visiting Edward. I'd tried to get him to come into town and told him that he could probably stay with me and Charlie, but he always declines. I think he's hiding from someone. He doesn't speak much but I can tell there is something bothering him.

He's finally starting to trust me a little bit. He doesn't give me that confused, suspicious look every time I give him something. So far it's been water bottles, cereal bars, soap, and a razor. I don't know how but he kept himself pretty clean even before I gave him that stuff. He seems to prefer to live out in the forest rather than with people. I was startled from my thoughts when Charlie's phone went off.

"Cheif Swan here.... okay I'll be right down." he hung up the phone. "I'm so sorry Bells, but they have a new development on those deaths in the forest and I gotta go in." He said with a look that told me he'd make it up to me.

"That's okay dad, I was thinking about going to visit Jake anyways." A look of relief washed over his face.

After Charlie droppeed me off at home and left for the station in full uniform, I decided that I would go to the store and make a quick delivery before I went to see Jake. I went through the motions of getting all of the supplies i thouht he'd need and headed for the checkout. I was lost in thought when a smooth voice snapped me back to the present.

"So does the Cheif have a super fast metabolism or do you have a giant mastiff that I never heard about?" The checkout boy asked. He had black hair and piercing blue eyes. I looked up at him in confusion. "I see you in here at least once a week, if not more, and each time you seem to be buying enough to feed an army." he clarified playfully.

"Oh, well maybe I just eat a lot. I do have a pretty fast metabolism. But no, there's no giant dog hidden in our house."

"Aw, darn! I wanted to go see the amazing, giant, hidden dog!" I laughed. "But seriously, why do you buy so much food? I know the Cheif isn't eating it because, well, his uniform still fits, and I know that you're no t eating it because there is no way that much food could fit into that tiny stomach, so where does it all go?" Okay this kid was making me nervous. I knew that if I told anyone in town that the news would spread faster than wildfire and I hadn't exactly told anyone about Edward yet.

"I'm storing up for the day that this town finally floods and I'm stuck in the house with the cheif and my giant hidden dog so that I don't get eaten. I mean seriously, how much can it rain in one place without it flooding? I would have thought the whole town would have _drowned _by now it's been raining so much." When I finished my little rant I looked up to see him barely holding back laughter. Soon he couldn't hold it in anymore.

"I- I cant- breathe!" he choked out between fits of laughter. At that I just couldn't stand to hold my laughter in any longer either and I joined him. At this point we were making a bit of a scene and half of the store was looking at us as if contemplating whether or not to call a psychiatric ward and have us committed. We quickly quieted down our laughing. I handed him the money and managed to get out without giving him any real answers. I made a mental note to stay away from his register.

I drove up to the trail and left the supplies in a hollow tree trunk for him. He had hollowed it out so I could still bring him supplies without having to make the hike. He would probably be expecting the supplies since I usually brought them over on Fridays. I made the drop and headed over to Jake's house.

When I got there Jake was already waiting for me on the front porch.

"Geez Bells where've you been? Charlie called to say you were coming over an hour ago."

"Sorry I had some cleaning to do before I came over."

"Sure, sure. So what do you want to do?" He said brushing off my excuse.

"Um, I'm not sure."

"Well, since it's raining out, do you mind if we just watch tv?"

"Sure."

"Great because there's this baseball game that I really wanted to watch today." He looked at me with pleading eyes. I sighed theatrically in defeat.

Not fifteen minutes later I was about an inch away from pulling my hair out. I growled in exasperation.

"I try. To learn your ways; understand your obsessions, but this baseball is so bleeding boring isn't it!" I finally spoute out in annoyance.** (A/N: P.S. If anyone can tell me what movie that is from I will totally love you forever! Plus I'll fulfill any request made of the first person to get it right. Well... maybe, not **_**any**_** request.)**

Jake burst out into fits of laughter. "I knew you wouldn't be able to stand it for more than twenty minutes! I really don't like baseball either but I just wanted to see how long it would take you to go insane. To be honest if you hadn't said anything in the next five minutes I would have gone insane!" He finally choked out when he got control of his laughter

"So what do you want to do then?" Jake asked after we had both calmed down enough to speak normally.

"Well, I kinda wanted to show you something, but the rain kind of ruined that idea. We can go hang out in the garage for a while if you want?"  
"What did you want to show me?"

"It's a surprise, it'll just have to wait for another day I guess. What do ya say about the garage though?"

"Definately. I've been kind of neglecting my car for a while because of school, it would be great to get some work in on her."

We chatted aimlessly for a few hours and just hung out in the garage while Jake worked on his car. It was around seven thirty when my cell phone started to ring.

"Bella, something's happened."

A/N: DUN DUN DUUUN! Sorry about the long wait but ya know how school is. anywho, if you guys could review that would be awesome especially since **I don't plan this stuff out** I just write it as I go along and generally post it within twenty minutes of actually finishing writing it.... so.... HELP! Oh and if you answer the baseball quote then let me know what you want if you win!


	5. Ch5 Breaking the Rules

**A/N: okay so this chapter goes out to **_**shorty84**_** for being my first reviewer and getting the baseball quote right! Sorry, this is a short chapter but I just wanted to get something out but I should be updating a lot sooner than I usually do for the next chapter. Btw if you didn't know that quote was from Gone in 60 Seconds. I freaking love Nicholas Cage! Much love! Oh! and send me some damn reviews or I'm gonna stop updating and only sending copies of the chapters to people who review! Anyway on with the story.**

**Disclaimer: The negotiations are still going on... but for now I don't own anything Twilight.**

**Chapter Five: Breaking the Rules**

EPOV

I always ran when I had something on my mind.

My 'father' always told me it was the perfect way to let out your frustrations. That didn't bother me. What bothered me was the fact that I had been running twice a day since I got here. My mind always blanked out while I ran, but I could still feel the monotony of the thoughts running through my mind at a million miles per minute.

Every syllable my mental voice uttered was centered around one thing. Bella.

She had me questioning everything I had ever known to be true. And only in a few days time. She wasn't afraid to ask questions. She questioned everyone and everything, but not in a skeptical way, she was genuinely curious. I couldn't help but re-evaluate everything in my life. I had never really questioned anything. I just did as I was told and that was that. And there was a little voice in my head telling me that this was wrong.

_You're breaking the rules Edward! You are starting to trust this girl! _

No! I just like to hear her talk. Besides, it's not like I've handed over my knife, or even taken my hand off of it while she's around for that matter. 

_When was the last time you checked the food or water she was bringing you? She might start putting something in it when she knows you don't check anymore. What then huh? _

She wouldn't do that. 

_How do you know? You've only known her for a few days! _

She's too innocent to do something like that though.

_See! You _trust _her! What would father say? All those years he's protected you, been the only one ther for you, and now you just turn your back on him for this- this GIRL! How dare you call yourself a son of his! _

He told me to take care of myself! That's what I'm doing. I don't think he would care how I did it!

_You know he would if he knew it were like this! Trusting some girl because she gave you food. You're dispicable._

I argued with myself for hours over that. I found myself tuning out the voices of logic battling in my head in favor of the sounds of the forest. My mind started to go black like it did sometimes, but this time I fought it. There was too much to think about to let the darkness take over. I didn't quite win but I was able to gain enough control to be a silent bystander of my own actions.

What I would give to go back and let the darkness take over again. To erase what I saw then from my mind. I saw me. And the monster that had been created.

BPOV

_We chatted aimlessly for a few hours and just hung out in the garage while Jake worked on his car. It was around seven thirty when my cell phone started to ring._

_"Bella, something's happened."_

"Officer Palmer? What's wrong? What happened?" I immediately started runnig for my car. I _never_ got calls from the station, especially from anyone besides Charlie. I was slightly aware that Jacob had followed me and we were speeding down the highway towards town.

"It's Charlie, he's been hurt. He was investigating the recent deaths and came accross something. Nobody was killed but a few people did get hurt pretty bad. The suspect got away."

"Where is he? Where's Charlie?" I had stopped listening after he said that Charlie had been hurt. Some of it registered somewhere in my subconcious but it was all of little importance now. Charlie was hurt. End of story.

"He's at the Forks General Hospital. I'll have an officer meet you there and debrief you."

"Thanks." I hung up the phone and sped off towards the hospital.

When we arrived Officer Evens was there waiting for us as promised.

"What happened." I said as soon as I was close enough. I had no time for pleasantries. Thankfully Officer Evans understood.

"He had been investigating the recent murder up in the forest when they came upon some footprints, they were pretty recent so they decided to cut him off further up the trail. Charlie got there first. By the time anyone else got there the suspect was gone and Charlie was on the ground. We took care of Charlie first. A few of the officers stayed behind to see if we could get anything else on the guy. So far they haven't found anything but we're still looking."

"Thank you. Do you know if I can go see my dad yet?"

"Yeah, he doesn't have any major injuries but we just wanted to make sure. He should be awake now. Go on in."


	6. Ch6 Fear

A/N: Alrighty guys, I'm trying my best to get this second chapter out ASAP because I really feel bad for not updating this weekend because I didn't have my laptop. I'm taking advantage of a semi-slow homework day to update. Grrr, high school sucks. Oh, and you guys really do need to review, I probably won't just stop posting but I might lose the motivation to write this and I won't finish it for another two years. So even if it just says 'this sucks' or 'like it keep writing' or whatever it only takes like thirty seconds and it would make my day. :)

P.S. This chapter goes out to my two reviewers for last chapter _shorty84_ and _Lj_. You guys rock my world!

**Chapter Six: FearH**

BPOV

_"Thank you. Do you know if I can go see my dad yet?"_

_"Yeah, he doesn't have any major injuries but we just wanted to make sure. He should be awake now. Go on in."_

The next two days or so passed by in a blur. I went to school still but every moment I didn't have to be there I was at home with Charlie making sure he was okay. We hadn't talked much about the night in the forest, just enough to answer the questions for a police report. So it was kind of weird not to find Charlie in his usual place on the sofa watching the sports channel. It was even weirder that he was waiting for me in the kitchen with some spaghetti that actually looked edible. And it was the weirdest when he started talking to me about that day.

He didn't just dive in or anything, he was a lot more subtle, but still blunt in a way that only Charlie could pull off. When I couldn't take it anymore I all but exploded at Charlie.

"Just get to the point dad. I know there's something you want to talk about, so please, for the sake of my sanity, just spit it out." If the moment weren't so tense both Charlie and I would have burst out laughing. But he had something to say and we both knew it. There was no getting out of this for either of us. There was a long pause before he spoke.

"I don't know Bells. There was just something about him that was just off to me. Not like I usually see but like- like he woke up in the middle of it all and didn't know he had been doing anything.... He was more afraid of him than I was. And I was pretty scared Bells." He pause to look up at me. "I used to think there was nothing that could scare me the way I was that day." I stared at him in shock. Never in my life have I ever heard amyone even hint at the possibility of Charlie being scared. Worried maybe, but never scared. He was never one to show much emotion either, so something like this, a declaration of emotion, especially of fear, was unheard of.

Sitting there I knew I should say something, but nothing would leave my lips. I was in complete shock. And then the moment was gone and there was a bit of an awkward silence. Charlie got up and started to clean up his plate when my brain and mouth decided to start working together again.

"Thank you for sharing that with me Charlie. That means a lot to me." And though I would have _loved_(note sarcasm) to stay and make it a disney channel moment, I suddenly had a ton of homework to do and bailed before he could tell me any more life altering facts.

I couldn't help but think about Edward in that moment. Things had been a little hectic and I haven't even been able to think about what had been happening in my life before Charlie's incident in the forest. I felt a whole new surge of fear sweep through me. What if Edward was in danger?

I vaguely remeber grabbing as much food as I could carry and shouting to Charlie something about going to Jake's house and not to wait up. The next thing I knew I was in the forest searching for Edward. Apparently I had dropped the food off at the tree because I was empty handed except for a flashlight and a cell phone. I searched for probably an hour or two before I found him. He was sitting against a tree with an eerily blank expression on his face. I felt a shiver run through my body at the sight of him.

"Are you okay?" I had to ask, there was definately somthing wrong... I just couldn't place it. He didn't answer, he just kept staring at the ground. "Don't you ignore me! I just spent the last hour and a half looking for you to make sure you were alright! You do not get to ignore me!"

"Why do you care?" He finally looked up at me. Self loathing shone in his eyes.

"Because there is a killer out there and no matter how tough you think you are you're not! I care because I wouldn't be able to handle another death! I care because I _like _you!"

"If there is anything dangerous out here it's me."

"No. I will not let you sit out here and get yourself killed. If you don't want me to do it for you, then fine, I'll do it for me. Either way it's going to go my way." The controlled anger and authority in my voice surprised even me. Well, it would have had I cared at that moment. He slowly stood and turned to face me.

"Bella. Just leave me alone. I'm not in any danger." His voice held a subtly threatening authority that I had never heard before. It wasn't his. It may somehow resemble the sweet velvet that usually flowed from those lips, but the velvet was now wrapped around a knife, poising to strike. It was then that I knew that he had given in to his dark side. This wasn't Edward anymore. Still I had to get my Edward back and safe.

"No. I can't do that." My voice was cold and unfeeling, and I could feel my emotions start to give in to my instincts.

I moved swiftly to his side and held onto his pressure point. A few seconds of this and a person would pass out. He quickly released himself from my grasp and slammed me against the tree.

"Leave me alone." he growled.

"I won't let you get yourself hurt." I gasped through the pain of the bark biting into my arm. He laughed. Finally loosening his grip on me.

"What could possibly hurt me?"

"Hm, I don't know a bear, a mountain lion, or maybe THE MURDERER THAT'S HIDING OUT IN THE FOREST!"

"Let me tell you a secret." He paused to lean in and whisper in my ear. "I am the killer."


	7. Ch7 My Own Worst Enemy

A/N: Okay, so I decided to try and write this chapter from Edward's point of view. It will be our nice Edward because apparently killer Edward is anti-social. Okay, the real reason I'm not doing his point of view is that I don't want you all to think that I'm some psycho killer or have the mind of one and try to put me in a psych ward.... well at least not yet. Anyways, let me know what you want to happen in the story or what you think what will happen or whatever, the point is REVIEW! I love that you put me on your alerts but I really feel alone in this world I'm creating and its driving me crazy.

-Taylor'sgirl15 (Jenny C.)

Disclaimer: Good News! Negotiations are going well. Steph said she might hand over Carlisle.... after Hell freezes over.... twice.... So I only have *pauses, counting onfingers while doing math in head* about twelve eternities until I can have Carlisle. Now I just have to convince her to add everyone else to the deal....

Chapter Seven: My Own Worst Enemy

EPOV

I sat there staring at the ground. I knew I was going to lose control again soon, I felt the darkness creeping closer; even before Bella showed up.

"Are you okay?" Well, let me think... NO! My alternate personality that just happens to be a killer is about to take over and now _she_ shows up to witness it!

"Why do you care?" I really didn't know, but it was more of an attempt to get her to leave than to gain information.

"Because there is a killer out there and no matter how tough you think you are you're not! I care because I wouldn't be able to handle another death! I care because I like you!"

"If there is anything dangerous out here it's me." I forced myself to ignore the last thing she said. Because if I did, I would let her stay and she would be at the mercy of the monster when he took over.

"No. I will not let you sit out here and get yourself killed. If you don't want me to do it for you, then fine, I'll do it for me. Either way it's going to go my way." She said with controlled anger and authority in her voice. The moster laughed. _She thinks she's _threatening_?_

"Bella. Just leave me alone. I'm not in any danger." I needed to get her out of there. I was losing control. There was an hint of a threat that the monster had forced into my voice. Well at least it would get her out of there faster.

"No. I can't do that." Did she _want_ to get herself killed? at that point I had lost almost all control. Just get her to leave. I begged my other half. He laughed. I was still able to see and hear what was being said, but I had no control over what I did or said. She shot forward and grabbed his pressure point. Go Bella! Unfortunately we were very well trained and I knew she wouldn't gain the upper hand. He ducked out of her grip and pinned her against the tree.

"Leave me alone." He growled at her. Well at least he was giving her a chance.

"I won't let you get yourself hurt." She gasped, obviously in pain from being pushed up against the tree. Let go. I growled. He laughed but loosened his grip.

"What could possible hurt me?"

"Hm, I don't know; a bear, a mountain lion, or maybe THE MURDERER THAT'S HIDING OUT IN THE FOREST!"

"Let me tell you a secret." He paused leaning in to whisper in her ear. I growled at him. He smirked. "I _am_ the killer."

BPOV

_"What could possibly hurt me?" _

_"Hm, I don't know a bear, a mountain lion, or maybe THE MURDERER THAT'S HIDING OUT IN THE FOREST!" _

_"Let me tell you a secret." He paused to lean in and whisper in my ear. "I am the killer." _

"GET OFF OF HER!" I heard Jake yell. Wait, _Jake_? What was he doing here? I felt Edward release his grip on me and then a _thud_ on the forest floor. _Uh-oh this isn't good_.

"Jake, don't hurt him!" I screamed. His head snapped up in confusion. Edward took advantage of this distraction and tackled him, pinning him to the ground. Jake kicked his knees out from under him and rolled them over, pinning Edward down. They kept battling for dominance as I screamed for them not to hurt each other.

"Stop it!" I screamed at them

They had both gotten up off of the ground and were circling each other preparing for another round. I ran out between them and put a hand on each of thier chests, pushing them away from each other. They both froze. I knew they would stop if fighting meant hurting me.

"I said stop." I growled at them. They both stared at me in shock. I couldn't help but laugh. Maybe it was because things were so intense and I needed the tension to break, or maybe because, deep down, I truely am insane. Either way, no matter what I did I could not stop laughing. The shock turned into worry as I collapsed on the dirt in fits of hysterical laughter.

"Bells!" Jake called. "Bells are you okay? Bells answer me!" When I saw the fear and worry on Jake's face I abruptly stopped laughing. It took a lot to scare Jake. I took a deep breath.

"Yeah, I'm okay Jake. Thanks." He sighed in relief. Then he remembered why he had been so mad earlier.

"Bells, what were you doing out here alone? Charlie said you were coming over and I started to worry when you didn't show. I knew you'd be crazy enough to go wandering out in the forest alone."

I looked up to see Edward- who had, amazingly, stayed- pacing. He was pinching the bridge of his nose and looked to be deep in thought.

"I came to make sure he was okay." I turned back to Jake and saw that he was completely confused. "Remember that day when we went hiking in the woods?" He nodded. "He's what I saw that day. I came back and I've been bringing him food and hanging out with him since then." Comprehension crossed his face, quickly replaced by anger.

"Bells, you should have told me. What if you got hurt? What if something happened to you? You can't just go looking for some stranger in the forest alone! What would Charlie have done if anything happened to you? What-" He looked off into the woods. "What would _I_ do?" He looked back at me, the anger fading. "Bells, you know I love you, you're my best friend, I would have gone with you ya know. Anything to keep you safe."

"No, you would have talked me out of it. I love you too Jake, you're my best friend too, but you would never have let me do this. And no matter what, I can't bring myself to regret going." He nodded, knowing I was right. "What were you doing out here anyways?"

"Um." He hesitated.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I think we need to talk. All of us." He sent a pointed glance at Jake. Who... looked down with guilt? What the heck?

A/N: ooh. What's Jake hiding? How will Bella react when she remembers what Edward told her? Why am I asking _you_ all these questions?

You're just gonna have to wait and find out. Except the last question. That was because I want to know what you think is going to happen. I think it might be kinda obvious but ya never know. Anyways REVIEW!!!!!!

P.S. My dog Chico says hi.


	8. Ch8 Say What?

A/N: Review! And enjoy this lovely dramatic scene. Oh btw Bella didn't really hear Edward when he told her he was the killer so.... yeah she still doesn't know. Well it's not really that she didn't hear and more of he got pulled off of her at just the right moment for her to not completely hear/register it.

-Jenn

Chapter Eight: Say What?

_"No, you would have talked me out of it. I love you too Jake, you're my best friend too, but you would never have let me do this. And no matter what, I can't bring myself to regret going." He nodded, knowing I was right. "What were you doing out here anyways?"_

_"Um." He hesitated._

_"Sorry to interrupt, but I think we need to talk. All of us." He sent a pointed glance at Jake. Who... looked down with guilt? What the heck?_

"Um, okay." I said, more than a little confused.

"Let's get cleaned up and fed first." Jake cut in. "Billy is down at the Clearwater place for the day so we can go to my house. Bells, you better call Charlie and let him know you're okay and with me. I think he's probably having a heart attack by now." With that he turned on his heal and started walking through the forest.

He seemed to know where he was going so I just followed him. Edward, suprisingly enough, was right behind me the entire time. The hike back to Jake's house was silent and tense. I couldn't help but wonder what Jake could feel guilty about, especially enough to want to keep it from me. Jake and Edward kept giving each other these glances of suspicion and I knew that Edward knew something about our dear Jacob that I didn't.

I drove myself crazy with questions and possible answers throughout the entire hike. I could have sworn it didn't take that long to actually _find _Edward, but when I looked at the time on my phone I saw that what had felt like hours was only twenty minutes, and we still had a ways to go. Joy. My imagination was _way_ too active. I came up with several different scenarios that all ended along the lines of some huge drug dealer sceme where both of them had met each other before. Maybe that was why he was out in the forest, to amke a deal.

I looked up at the boy who had swam out into the ocean and brought me to shore when I tried- and failed- to swim when I was five. No, that couldn't be it. But what would Jake ever hide from _me_? We haven't had a secret between us in ten years. Or so I had thought. I decided that I really needed to find something less important and life-changing to think about. I settled for going over some of th basic laws of fighting in my head. That worked like a charm. The next thing I knew we were walking out of the forest right behind Jake's house.

"Bella, can you start making some food for the three of us? Edward can get cleaned up first and I need to make a call." Jake said braking the long silence.

"Sure." I responded quietly. I noticed that Jake had called me Bella instead of Bells, which he hadn't done since second grade. That scared me, and my imagination went all kinds of crazy trying to figure out what was going on. Jake gave Edward one last warning glace and whispered something to him as he passed by him to enter the house. My mind was in overdrive now. I was snapped out of the fog of my thoughts by Edward's voice.

"I'm sorry what did you say?" I said, still half dazed.

"Um, I don't know where the bathroom is." He said looking down somewhat embarassed. I finally came to my senses and pointed to the door down the hall. I figured he would want some different clothes so I went to knock on Jake's door to ask him for something Edward could wear. I stopped cold when I heard him talking on the phone.

"I know Sam... But I have to tell her... She's gonna find out either way, that kid that bailed the other day is here... Yeah I know, strange... no, I don't think he could have done it, I don't even like the kid and I still wouldn't pin this on him... yeah... yeah I know I promised not to tell her... yeah she's gonna kill me... haha yeah so will paul... k... grr, some help you are... yeah, bye." He shut his phone and spun around. When he completed his turn we were face to face at his door. His face had fallen from the normal bright smile- that since this morning has been fake- to one of genuine shock and fear. Oh he better be afraid, he wasn't kidding when he said I'd kill him.

"Was that Sam?" I said in a sweet voice. The fear on his face turned to pure terror. He knew that I was most dangerous when I was sweet and innocent.

"Uh, um, well Bells I-" He stuttered.

"Don't even try to explain." Sam used to be my fighting trainer. Him and James were the best fighters in the U.S. and probably most of the world. I had a... I guess you could call it a falling out with them. I had vowed to kill them if I ever saw them again. Jake knew this. And here he was, keeping secrets from me and talking to the only enemy I had ever aquired. Anger and betrayal flooded my veins. I had to fight not to give in to my training and rip him to shreds. I stepped into the room. Jake took a step back and started to take a defensive stance. If I wasn't so angry I might have rolled my eyes. I snatched a shirt and some jeans, spun on my heal, and stormed out of the room.

I had to stop myself from pounding on the bathroom door. I knocked, still a little too loud, and flung the clothes at Edward when he opened it. I'm pretty sure he thanked me but I was too consumed by anger to respond. I stormed into the kitchen and decided that Jake could fend for himself, I needed to run. I grabbed a sweatshirt and flew out the door. I broke out in a sprint and headed towards the beach.

I ran for a few miles before I was finally calm enough to slow to a jog. My mind was finally clear enough to form rational thoughts so I decided to start jogging back to the house. Of course now that I could think properly I started to put peices together. Every suspicious act explained, every hesitation, every absence, every 'Jake and Bella day'. All explained. Looking back, there were some things that should have given him away.

Whenever I mentioned a fight I would like to see, he quickly changed the subject. I figured he did that to avoid some kind of conversation or confrontation with Sam or James. He just didn't want to be approached by some fan in front of me and have to explain everything.

I guess I can't completely blame him. I never did tell him the whole story about what they did. He would have murdered them if he found out. I didn't even tell the police. Nobody but James and I knew the full extent of what happened. Jake just thought it was some dispute that I never let go, and I never led him to believe otherwise.

I finally arrived back at Jake's house. I was calm enough to speak to him without screaming and knew that he didn't know the whole story. It wasn't his fault. He didn't know. I kept repeating those thouhts to myself. It calmed me down enough that I could trust myself near a stove. My stomach decided to choose that moment to make its presence known.

"Bells? Is that you?" Jake called out from the living room. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, Jake. It's me. Hey, do you have any food in this house or am I going to have to go down to the store?" I could hear him sigh, knowing that I was calm.

"Yeah, I just picked some stuff up a little bit ago. Edward made some food if you want some." I shot him a worried look. He laughed.

"What?" Edward asked, confused.

"Let's just say I haven't had the best experiences with other people making me food. I'll make my own." I said as I headed towards the kitchen.

"Are you sure Bells? There really good." Jake said, following me into the kitchen.

"No, I'll make something for myself." It was quiet for a bit and I thought he'd left but when I turned around he was still there.

"I'm really sorry for not telling you Bells. I just knew you'd freak out because of this fight you guys had and this was really something I wanted to do." There was a long pause. "Come on Bells, just say _something_." He finally said when he figured I wouldn't respond.

"Jake, I know you didn't want to hurt me, but there was a lot more than a fight. We need to talk more about it. But not right now. I'm starving!" He looked like he was about to protest but he shut his mouth and nodded. I turned back to fixing my meal.

After we'd all eaten and gotten cleaned up, we sat around Jake's living room. There was nothing else we could do to avoid talking about what none of us wanted to talk about. It had to be done. And Edward deserved to know my story too. But I was _not_ going to be the first one to share.

"So, how do you guys know each other?" I asked. Jake looked up at me uneasily, trying to calculate how I'd react. I already know they knew each other from the fighting world, but I kind of wanted to make him suffer through his explanations. Unfortunately Edward stepped in and ruined my fun.

"We'd seen each other at a few fights." Short, sweet, and to the point. Looks like he didn't want to have this conversation either.

"How are you involved in the fighting world?" I turned my interrogation to him.

"I was a fighter for quite a while Bella." He said, his eyes going cold. Oh-_kay_.

"How long have you been fighting Jake?" I decided that going back and forth would be the best approach. They both owed me some answers.

"Three years." He said quietly, looking away.

"WHAT! How long have you been training with Sam and James?" I demanded. The 'fight' between them and me had been going on for just about that long.

"Um..." he looked down and shuffled his feet. "since about a week before you quit." He said, still not meeting my gaze.

My mouth dropped open in shock. I'd tried to stay for a while after the 'incident'. I think I lasted about a month. My best friend had been going behind my back and training with _them_ since three weeks after the incident. He'd been training with them since after they transformed into the scum I hated. I had jumped up out of my seat in anger at how long he'd been fighting. My vision turned red and I could feel hot tears streaking down my cheeks.

"THAT LONG!" I shrieked. "YOU'VE BEEN LYING TO ME FOR THAT FUCKING LONG!" I started pacing around the room taking deep breaths to calm down. Once I could speak without screaming or crying I finally turned back to him. "Jake, I wouldn't care if you killed a thousand people and cut them up into tiny squares for fun, as long as you didn't keep it from me. Jake, we've been best friends since we were in diapers, you should know that you can tell me anything." I stopped and took another deep breath. "I guess I can't fully blame you though, I kept something from you too."

I turned back and faced him. There was a long pause where I waited for him to make _some_ kind of response.

"Jake, for god's sake say _something_." I finally said.

"You mean you wouldn't have been mad at me? I could have told you? Wait, what do you mean you kept something from me too?"

"Of course you could have told me. I might have tried to talk you out of it, but I couldn't be truely mad at you. It only really made me mad that you didn't tell me." I purposely avoided the last question. I should have known better than to think Jake wouldn't noice that though.

"What do you mean you kept something from me too?" Jake demanded. I looked down at my hands.

"I never really told you what happened the night the whole 'incident' with James and Sam started."

"Bells?" I found that I couldn't look up at him. "Bella." He said pulling my chin up for me to look at him. "Bella look at me." I finally looked in his eyes. He was so worried. "Bells, what happened that night." he demanded gently. I burst out into tears and he pulled me into a hug. "Shh Bella, it's okay. Shh, tell me what happened."

**VERY IMPORTANT A/N: I seriously need some reviews. I think last chapter was pretty cool and had an amazingness cliff hanger an I got maybe two reviews and one was to my dog. I lose motivaton pretty easily but I really want to do this story so I'm **_**begging**_** you all for some reviews. All you have to do is tell me what you want to happen or what you think is going to happen or something I need to work on. So PLEASE review. I will not update again until I get at least two meaningful reviews. Yes, I am being a bitch. Deal with it.**

**-Jenny C. (Taylor'sgirl15)**


	9. Ch9 Confessions

_Previously..._

_"Bells?" I found that I couldn't look up at him. "Bella." He said pulling my chin up for me to look at him. "Bella look at me." I finally looked in his eyes. He was so worried. "Bells, what happened that night." he demanded gently. I burst out into tears and he pulled me into a hug. "Shh Bella, it's okay. Shh, tell me what happened."_

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Chapter Nine: Confessions

Disclaimer: ...still waiting... oh the hell with it, I don't own Twilight! Well, not the rights but the book is in my backpack...

_***WARNING: CONTENT OF FOLLOWIN CHAPTER NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN. THE FOLLOWING CONTAINS TALK OF RAPE AND SLIGHT ABUSE. IF EITHER OF THESE IS DISTURBING TO ANYONE IN ANY WAY I RECOMMEND THAT EITHER YOU SKIP THIS CHAPTER OR YOU DISCONTINUE THE READING OF THIS STORY***_

A/N: K, sorry about that, but I know that some people get really upset about that kind of content and thought that it would be a good idea to warn said people.__

It was another couple of minutes before I regained my composure.

"Sorry about that, I didn't mean to lose control like that." I hated to let people see me cry.

"Don't apologize, just tell us what happened."

I looked up at them, drying the tears from my eyes.

"Have you ever done something you regreted? Something people would look down on you for if they knew about it?" I asked them. Edward's eyes filled with pain and Jake's filled with sadness. They both nodded. "What? What did you do?"

"I let someone hurt you." Jake responded, unshed tears filling his eyes.

"You didn't have any control over that Jake. No, I mean something terrible. Something unforgivable." I said, turning to look at Edward.

"Yes." Edward said, barely above a whisper.

"You have?" I asked in disbelief. A sad smile spread across his lips.

"Yes." I waited for him to elaborate but after a few minutes of silence I knew there was nothing more he would say right now.

I sighed. I was scared to share my story. I had never told anyone else and was afraid of their reactions. I took a deep breath and began.

"Well, it was two years ago just after winter break. I had been training with Jasper for the past few years, but he was moving to Texas in two months. He said he knew this guy from college that was a really good fighter. He was very demanding but all of his students excelled in fighting. I wasn't very excited about having a new instructer but Jasper encouraged me and told me that it would be fine. That this guy was good and that he would check up on me every so often.

"Training with James was a lot more intense than with Jasper. Jasper and I had always been able to joke around and talk during or after training. James was strict and to the point, he made it very clear that first day that he had no intentions of being my friend like Jasper was. He was very controlling and dominating. He would get angry if I didn't do a move right or if I just didn't listen to him. Even if my way was better.

"After a few months he started pushing me really hard in training. He would be fighting rough or dirty in training. One night after a competition he had gotten angry because I wasn't 'rough enough' with my opponent. I told him that if I was any rougher the girl would have been carried out on a stretcher, not to mention that it would have violated the rules and gotten me banned from the fights.

"He started yelling at me, telling me how I was a useless, disobedient bitch. I snapped and started screaming back at him. He hit me and knocked me to the ground. He told me 'Don't you _ever_ talk back to me like that'. I spit at his shoes and he snapped. He pinned me down and said 'I guess I'll have to teach you to behave then'. He kissed me roughly and when I struggled he tightened his grip on me and held me down by the throat. He growled at me and grabbed his towel from where it was tucked into the waistband of his jeans and gagged me with it. He

"He started yelling at me, telling me how I was a useless, disobedient bitch. I snapped and started screaming back at him." I gulped as I remembered what happened next. I could only hear the low hum of my voice as I went back to that night in the alley behind the club.

_He hit me and knocked me to the ground. He was powerful and I wasn't expecting him to hit me._

_"Don't you _ever_ talk to me that way!" he roared. I spit at his shoes. He didn't deserve any more respect than what I gave him, in fact he deserved less. He snapped. The next thing I knew he was on top of me, pinning me down._

_"I guess I'll have to teach you to behave yourself then." he snarled at me. A moment later his lips were on me in a rough, controlling kiss. I tried to push him off, but all that did was make him angrier. He gripped me by the throat and held me down with one hand while he reached behind him for the towel tucked into his back pocket. He tore off a long peice with his teeth and tied it around my mouth as a gag. He tore off one more peice and tied my wrists together._

_"That's better." he said, smiling sadistically. He held up my arms and lifted my shirt until it was piled around my wrists. He quckly undid my pants and they were thrown across the alley. My bra and panties had the same fate. I started tearing up at this point, I knew what was going to happen and I just felt so powerless sitting there naked in this alleyway with him. He undid his pants and threw his shirt across the alley with my clothes._

_He took me, trembling, by the hips and slammed me down on him. I cried out in pain and tears streamed down my face. It was the most painful way to lose your innocence. He didn't wait for me to adjust, he lifted my again and slammed me down onto his length. I cried out again and he got angry, slamming into me even harder than before. My cries of pain finally quieted to whimpers as I waited for it to be over. _

_I cried the whole time. It made me sick. I thought about all of the things I wished had never happened. Things that led to this moment. _

_I wish I had chosen to move in with Charlie. I wish Renee had come to my fight. I wish Jasper hadn't moved. I wish James had never been born. I wish I was strong enough to hurt or even kill him. I wish that I had stayed with playng piano instead of fighting. I wish Jake was here. I wish I could tell someone. I wish that I didn't hate myself so much right now. And the list went on._

_I tried to distract myself from what was going on. I thought of Renee's ex-boyfriend, George. He had that really creepy uncle kind of thing going on. You know the one that looks like he's trying to hit on you or your mom even though she's married to his brother and you're his fucking neice. Yeah, gross I know. _

_It was the most random thing and it almost made me laugh despite where I was and what was happening. That is until he rammed into me one last time and came insie me. The fucking bastard. He pulled up his pants and found his shirt, pulling it on before turning back to me. He untied me and took the gag out of my mouth. I vomited, wishing that it could at least been on his $300 shoes. He grabbed my clothes and threw them at me._

_"Don't you EVER talk back to a man. Especially me. Cause if you fuck with me, baby, I'll fuck with you." A shiver went down my spine and I vomited again. Fucking perverted bastard doesn't get to call ME baby. He laughed, still staying there to watch me suffer._

_I slowly crawled to my jeans and pulled out my knife. I kept it hidden from his view. I tried to get up and stumbled towards him, quickly slicing a B into his arm before he could react. He growled and spun me around holding the knife to my neck. I didn't care if he killed me. I wouldn't be able to live with myself after this._

_"Aw, baby. Don't you want something to remember me by?" I said in an acidic voice. He growled and pushed the knife closer to my throat. Just a little more pressure and then... but it never came. He leaned down to whisper in my ear. _

_"I'll make you pay for that one, _baby_." He flung me across the alley and the knife clattered to the ground next to me, and he was gone. _

_I quickly got dressed and ran to this old hangout where I used to go as a kid. I sat there and cried for hours. When I finally got home Renee was already asleep and I just left her a note saying that I was out late at a friend's house and was really tired or some crap like that. _

_The next day I called Sam, who was James' brother and sometimes helped out at my training sessions, and told him that I wouldn't be coming in anymore. I told him fighting wasn't for me and that I was probably going to be moving soon anyways. I told my mom that I wanted to go stay with Charlie for a while to 'give her some time to be with Phil' or something._

"I moved in with Charlie about a week later and I haven't seen James since." I said coming back to the present. I finally looked up to see their responses. What I saw was enough to tear my heart to shreds.

A/N: Did you like it? This chapter was hard to write because I never really went through anything like this and I didn't really know what to do. Also the little bit about the creepy uncle, ugh, that was real. Except my creepy uncle is named Bob. Gave me the creeps whenever I'd see him. Anyways, tell me what you think. The reactions of the boys will be in the next chapter and then we can start to move on. I need help with how we're going to get Edward to tell his story... so please review and let me know what you want to/think should happen. Oh and for the Jasper fans out there, I just had to throw him into this story, because he's just that amazing. No matter how small a part he plays in the plot.

REVIEW

toodles!

-Jenny C.

Oh, P.s. (I know super long author's note but just hang on) If you didn't like this chapter let me know because I have like two other 'alternate' chapters that I can finish and replace this one with so let me know


	10. Ch10 Reactions

**A/N: Sorry for the delay.. There's just no ideal way to react to something like this because it's not exactly an ideal situation. I don't know how good or realistic it is but here it is.**

**Disclaimer: ha.. yeah right**

**Chapter Ten: Reactions**

_The next day I called Sam, who was James' brother and sometimes helped out at my training sessions, and told him that I wouldn't be coming in anymore. I told him fighting wasn't for me and that I was probably going to be moving soon anyways. I told my mom that I wanted to go stay with Charlie for a while to 'give her some time to be with Phil' or something._

_"I moved in with Charlie about a week later and I haven't seen James since." I said coming back to the present. I finally looked up to see their responses. What I saw was enough to tear my heart to shreds._

Jake's face was flashing between anger, rage, pity, and disgust. I couldn't help but feel hurt when I saw that. I knew he would be mad at me. I knew he would pity me like the worthless piece of crap I am. And I knew that he would be disgusted with me. But it hurt so much worse to see it in person than to imagine it. I wasn't able to stop the tears that streamed down my face, but I tried my best to keep quiet. I didn't need him thinking I was even weaker and more helpless than he already thought I was. When he looked up at me, the pity and disgust faded into the background and only the pure rage was present. Without a word he stood and marched down the hall. When I figured he was far enough out of ear shot I let out a huge sob.

I felt a weight next to me on the couch and I looked up to see Edward. I had almost forgotten that he was there. I was so embarrassed at having him see me cry, but that only made me cry even harder. He pulled me into a semi-awkward hug and let me cry on his shoulder for a bit. Jake had been quiet this whole time, probably not wanting to even look at me, but just then his bedroom door opened and slammed. I heard him walk down he hall to Billy's room and heard the click of the safe. I was on my feet in a second. I ran to Billy's room just in time to see him shut the vault and pocket the magazine to Billy's Smith and Wesson.

"Jake." I warned him. "Don't do anything you'll regret." my voice was shaking slightly in fear.

"I won't regret this." his voice was dark, cold, and definately not my Jacob's.

"I'm sorry." I whispered. He spun back around, anger now aparent on his face.

"_You're_ sorry? No, _he_ is going to be sorry. Sorry he ever touched you."

"But, Jake I-"

"You what? No. You didn't do anything. You didn't _deserve_ any of this. And now he's going to pay for what he did to you."

"Jake you can't do this! Jake, put the gun away!" It wasn't helping. I knew what I would have to do to smack some sense into him. I had to play the guilt card. "Jakey," his head snapped up and his eyes focused a little bit. "Jakey, don't do this. What happens after? Huh, Jake? What happens to me then? You can't just leave me like that Jake. It's not fair." His eyes re-focused and he seemed to realize what had just happened. He looked up to see my tear-streaked face and broke down.

"Bells, I'll never leave you." he said pulling me into a hug.

"You promise?" I asked, sniffling still.

"Yeah Bells, I promise."

**"**You were going to _shoot _him! That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard! You go to prison, and he gets away with what he did anyways!"

"I don't care, I'd go to prison. And he would have gotten_ exactly_ what he deserved."

"What would I do when I needed to talk with my best friend? Jake, that would be one of the most painful things I would have to endure. Even worse than the incident with James."

"I just want him to pay Bells. What he did to you was not right. I want to protect you, I want to save you Bells. You just looked so empty and broken when you were telling your story. I just wanted to protect you Bells."

"I know Jake. But what you don't understand is that you _are_ protecting me. You are _already_ saving me. If it wasn't for you, I might not be here right now. Jake, you've helped me so much, you don't even realize. I just need you here. Please? Just be here for me. That's what I really want, that's what I really need."

He offered me his award winning, sun shining, heart melting smile. Though watered down with tears, his and my own, it was exactly what I needed.

When we walked back into the living room, Edward was gone and there was a note scribbled on a napkin on the table in the perfect script that was unmistakably his.

Dear Bella,

Don't worry. All will be well and justice will be served. Take care of yourself and Jacob. Don't come looking for me. I can't be found. I love you Bella.

Love,

Edward

When I read this I started to cry. Jake wrapped his arms around me and read the letter. His grip tightened around me and he held me, letting me cry for what felt like hours. I finally found it in me to stop and I just stayed clinging onto Jake. I finally pulled away and looked up at him.

"We need to find him."

**A/N: Okay, so this story isn't playing out exactly like I thought at the beginning but the basics are still here and I think it's still a pretty good story. Sorry for the long wait and the pretty short chapter but I do have some excuses if you want to hear them. I'll post them below if anyone wants to share my sob story. Wow, I'm pathetic. Anyways reviews are always awesome. Tell me what you think.**

**-Jenny C**

**Excuses:**

**-**Moving- I've been moving for the past two months or so and we are finally moved(mostly) into our new house and my mom is a little less psycho-stressed now.

-Drama- Tons of drama with my friends... we'll leave it at that.

-Classes- being a junior and taking two college classes is pretty difficult, so cut me a little slack please.

-Stress- All of the above. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Ideas- I had total writers block for this chapter and could not come up with a good way to have everything play out the way I wanted it to and also be somewhat realistic.

P.S. did you hear about the elderly man in Forks, WA who cancelled his camping reservations because of the 'vampire problems'? I thouht that was funny. Obviously I don't really believe that vampires are real. But maybe thats what they want you to think...... hmmmmmmm. LOL. : P

P.S.S. go check out **In time **by _Amber 90210 _it is AMAZING!


	11. Ch11 Road Trip

**A/N: **Hey y'all! I'm really excited, I've been working on this new fic called Lesson In Leaving, I haven't started posting it yet but when I do I'll have some chapters already started so there won't be any long delays like there were for this story. I might even wait until I finish it to start posting because then I won't have to worry about that at all. Idk, I'll have to think about it. I probably won't start posting until KITF is finished though, cause otherwise I'll never finish. I think I'm going to try to tie things up in the next few chapters, but I'm not sure how well that would work out because I had quite a few more plans for this story. I could also use some feedback if ya don't mind, too. I'm really trying not to cut this story off because that would make me mad if I was readin a story and it was just cut off, but I think that my plans just got a lot simpler. I really don't know what to do. Anyways, now you're up to date and that's all I've really got. Happy Readings!

**Chapter Eleven: Road Trip**

_When I read this I started to cry. Jake wrapped his arms around me and read the letter. His grip tightened around me and he held me, letting me cry for what felt like hours. I finally found it in me to stop and I just stayed clinging onto Jake. I finally pulled away and looked up at him._

_"We need to find him."_

"I don't know if that's the best idea, Bells"

"We have to Jake. He could get hurt!"

He laughed. "Bella, do you know what that guy does for a living? He beats the crap out of over muscled, over trained , over drugged guys. Did you know he's undefeated? This will be a walk in the park for him. If anything James is the one you shoul be worried about. I've seen this guy fight Bells. He can be totally brutal."

"I won't let him do that Jake. He'd kill James. It's not like he can come back after that. Hell, he probably can't go back to fighting after that. I won't let him throw away what he's got because of me. I _am _going to stop him. The only question here, Jake, is if you will help me."

He looked at me and sighed, knowing he wouldn't be able to stop me if he tried. "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. I'm in Bells. We just need to figure out a cover to get you away from Charlie without a search party being sent after you."

"Road trip? Our last bit of time together before school starts to get intense?" I offered.

"Hmm, maybe. I was thinking more along the lines of visiting your mom though. She'd be more likely to let us road trip, plus we could talk to Sam to see where James is. Edward probably already got that info by now."

"She's in Florida though. We need to be closer to Phoenix."

"Visiting the old neighborhood?"

"Not sure if he's gonna buy that. But maybe if we mix some of them together we could get something good enough to pass."

"What do you have in mind?"

"Visiting the old neighborhood and visiting my mom, cause I'm not sure if he know's she's out of town. And a side road trip to California."  
"Alright let's see if that'll pass. I think Billy should be home any minute, let's plan for some dinner or something tomorrow with all four of us and we can bribe them with food."

"Good idea. Just remember to leave them enough to feel bribeable."

"Hey it's not my fault that i'm so hungry all of the time. I am an active growing boy!"

"Yeah, yeah, just make sure they get their food before you get yours."

* * *

The plan was going well. I had made Billy's and Charlie's favorie dishes and hey got to watch a killer football game. I nodded my go ahead to Jake and we moved in for the kill. We sat on the couch looking at our fathers until we had their attention.

Charlie sighed. "Okay you two, get it overwith, I know you've just been buttering us up to ask us something."  
"Is it working?" I asked, smiling.

"Yes."

"Good." I knew better than to think Charlie was oblivious, he was an officer for Pete's sake, but I was pretty impressed that he could read me so well.

"We wanted to go to Phoenix." Jake stated, cutting to the chase.

"Isn't your mother out of town? Jacksonville, right?" Charlie questioned, I think that was a subtle lead up to a big fat no, but I was not going to give up that easily.

"Yeah, but we kind of wanted to go visit my old neighborhood and maybe take a trip down to California. Besides, we'd be able to stay at mom's house, I still have a key, and Jake would be there to keep me safe and out of trouble." I countered.

Charlie sihed again before looking at Billy, who seemed fine with letting his son go running off to Phoenix and California with me. Charlie looked back at me. "How long?"

"A week, we'd be back by next Saturday."

"Okay, you can go."

"Thank you! Thank You! Thank You!"

* * *

The next day we were headed off to Port Angeles. Jake said he didn't trust the truck to make it all the way to Phoenix alive, so we were catching a flight out and getting a rental car when we got there. Thank god for my college fund.

The trip itself was fairly uneventful. I wish I could say that some more catastrophic things happened and it was the strangest trip I'd ever been on. But the only thing that was even noteable was the damn stewardess who kept asking Jake if he wanted to join the mile high club... while he was holding my hand. Slut. I mean, I know we're just friends and all, but would it be that hard to believe that Jake and I could be together? Aparently so, because here comes another stewardess, and she has that same cougar prowling look on her face.

This was going to be a long plane ride if this kept up.

"Hi, is there anything I can do for you?" She greeted with an overly cheery smile and a long gaze at Jake. Which stopped at his hand which was firmly clasping mine. Her smile faltered a bit but when she looked up again her smile was back in place.

"No thank you we're fine." Jake responded. But this time, instead of just walking away, she turned to me.

"How about you?" she asked. I would have thought she was asking me if I would join her for some rondevouz in the bathroom had her expression been anything but that of pure innocence that she had. And not the fake innocence either.

"I, um, er, no, no thank you."

As soon as she walked away Jake started laughing.

"Looks like she stunned you with her beauty there huh Bells?"

"Shut up." i growled, "I was just shocked that she took the time to look at me after having ogled you like some peice of meat. I was just shocked. I think I like that one, she was very un-rude."

"Don't you mean polite?" Jake chuckled.

"No, the other girls were polite, this one was... nice... respectful. Not like those other girls."

He shruged it off and we continued our trip in silence. But in my mind things were going haywire. I was worried and shocked and angry. How could he think that this was a solution? We needed to find him before he did something stupid. And that may not be very long.

We arrived at the Phoenix airport at about three in the afternoon. We said our thanks and tried to ignore the disappointed looks on the faces of the stewardesses. When we got to baggage claim Jake took our bags and we headed over to the rental car pick up station. When we got to the desk, it was being manned by a very formal looking man in his late twenties.

"Hello, I called in yesterday to reserve a rental car. It should be under Swan."

"Ah yes. The blue Subaru Baja. Please just sign here Miss Swan, and your car will be pulled around immediately."

"Thank you." I said. I signed the papers and turned to Jake.

"A Subaru Baja?" I asked. He was the one who made the reservations dur to my utter lack of knowledge when it came to cars.

"It's a really cool all wheel drive truck. A step up from your little hunk of junk."  
"Hey! I like that car! No making fun of the truck."

"Oh, but you'll love this one."

I watched at the guy pulled around in an ice clue truk with silver accenting the doors and bumpers. Despite being a truck it was a four door, five seater, but was not massive like other trucks with that much room. It was absolutely beautiful.

"Wow, good choice Jake." I stated in awe. I was definately never going to look at my truck the same.

"I knew you'd like it." he laughed.

After all the paper work and everything was situated we headed out.

"So where are we going first?" Jake asked, eying the McDonalds we just passed.

"We need to check out the old studio first. Let's see if we can get any information on James' whereabouts. That will make it easier to find Edward."

"Then can we eat?" He pouted, dramatically clutching his stomach. I laughed.

"Yes, then we can eat."

**A/N: Alrighty y'all. This story will be winding down soon, I'm thinking around five more chapters left. In a way I'm kind of glad, because I would have accomplished the completion of my first story. But then again, that means that it's over. **

**Okay so if you haven't noticed I have stopped begging for reviews because I realized that it was pretty pathetic, but that doesn't mean that I don't want reviews. I mean you're reading a 'book' for free, don't you think you could pay in reviews? haha okay so that was my attempt to get reviews and I won't get any worse than that. Uuuuuuuuuuummmmmmmmmmmmm.... i think that's it.**

**Hope you enjoyed! Please REVIEW!! **


	12. Ch12 Search

**ChapterTwelve: Search**

_After all the paper work and everything was situated we headed out._

_"So where are we going first?" Jake asked, eying the McDonalds we just passed._

_"We need to check out the old studio first. Let's see if we can get any information on James' whereabouts. That will make it easier to find Edward."_

_"Then can we eat?" He pouted, dramatically clutching his stomach. I laughed._

_"Yes, then we can eat."_

I was pretty nervous as we pulled up to the old studio. I wasn't sure what I would find there or how that would affect me. I hadn't been back since the incident.

Jake squeezed my hand reassuringly and, with a deep breath, I headed in, Jake on my tail. When we saw Sam I had to hold Jake back a bit and swallowed back the rising bile in my throat.

"Hey Sam." I said, fighting off a grimace. Not that he was a bad guy or anything, he just looked a little too much like his brother to keep the memories away.

"Hey Bells, long time no see. What can I do for ya?" he said smiling.

"Um, actually, I was wondering if you could get me in touch with James." At that I saw his smile falter a bit, but he hid it well.

"Well, he doesn't really come around here that much anymore. But if you wanted to start training again I could definitely help you with that." He replied, obviously looking for a change in subject.

"Where is he Sam." Jake demanded, getting right to the point.

"You know I can't tell you guys that." Sam said, dropping the smile completely from his face.

"I said where the fuck is he Sam!" Jake was getting angrier.

"And I said that I can't tell you that Jacob." Sam said, letting his temper rise a bit himself.

The next thing I knew Jake had Sam lifted off the ground by his collar and had slammed him into the wall. Jake was seething, so much so that he was actually shaking with anger.

"I played nice Sam, now tell me where the hell that fucker is right now or so help me I will rip your arm off your body." Jake said in a dangerously even, low voice.

"What the hell is wrong with him?" Sam asked me, fear evident in his eyes.

"He hasn't had a decent meal in the last twelve hours and getting this over with is the only way he is going to get food. I would definitely do what he says if I were you. You know how Jake gets when he's hungry." I replied smoothly. Sam's eyes widened as I'm sure memories of Jake's worse days flashed before his mind.

"He's down in Cali, got himself involved in some gang called the Volturi. He's been doing some physical enforcement for them. He got himself dug in pretty deep. He's actually pretty high up on the food chain for the short time he's been with him. I'd watch my back around him if I were you guys." he rushed out, his eyes darting back and forth between me and Jake. Jake finally dropped him and walked back over to me.

"Let's get some food."

* * *

"Seriously Jake, a happy meal?" I laughed at him as we drove out of the Phoenix city limits.

"Seven." he countered behind a full mouth.

"Oh right, sorry. Let me rephrase that. Seriously Jake, _seven_ happy meals?"

"Yep." he smiled at me at a rare moment between bites where his mouth wasn't stuffed with food. I rolled my eyes at his childish behavior, but had to hold back a laugh as I saw him admiring the hot wheels car he pulled out of one of the boxes.

This was why I had gone to Jake, why he had been my shelter over anyone else. Because even at the worst moments, the ones where I feel like I can't live with myself or the other people on this earth any longer, he can make me smile. And nobody else had been able to do that after the incident with James. And yet, at the same time, I could have serious conversations with him, and truly know that he knew where I was coming from.

I pondered this and many other aspects of my life as I drove on towards California. Some time between finishing his happy meals and crossing the state line Jake had fallen asleep and I was left to my thoughts. I took the opportunity to worry about Edward. If Sam was right, and James was working for that gang, he would have a much harder time getting away with what he was planning to do, especially if he was as high up as Sam was saying.

I couldn't help but pray that we found James before Edward did, for his sake. And mine. Because if Edward was hurt, or killed, then I know I would end up doing something I wasn't going to be proud of. And I didn't want to do that to Charlie or Renee.

Several hours later we pulled up to a hotel and settled in for the night. I didn't realize that we hadn't slept in beds for over a day and a half, and I knew that if I didn't get some sleep, I'd end up crashing at the worst possible moment.

After a few hours of sleep we headed out again in search of the night club where the Volturi was based. The Volterra Lounge.

Sam had said it was somewhere in Hollywood, a big hotspot for some of the biggest stars. It was also the cover for most of the drug dealing they had going on. I knew getting in was going to be difficult and getting to the right people was going to be even harder. What I was hoping for, though, was just to prevent Edward from getting in. But as we pulled up, I knew I was already too late.

People were running out of the club and the sound of gunfire rang out in the night air. In the midst of the chaos Jake and I were able to sneak inside. Well, I was and Jake followed to make sure I didn't get myself killed.

The gunshots stopped and we figured the shooters had been knocked out, which was confirmed when we came across a bulky looking guy sprawled across the floor with a gun in his hand. I quickly took the gun and tucked it in the waist of my jeans. You never know when a gun can come in handy.

We crept along the hallway until we heard voices coming from an office about five feet away. We stayed low and got closer, so we could see what was going on.

"Where is he." The smooth voice demanded calmly. No answer. A gun went off. "I don't like to play games Demetri, now where is he." Still no answer. The man sighed, another gunshot sounded. This time followed by a cry of pain from the man now known as Demetri. "Surely he can't mean that much to you, that you are willing to risk your life for his. I would much rather get the information I needed and be on my way."

"Fuck you." Demetri spit out. Another gunshot followed by another cry of pain from Demetri.

"Now I'm sure you have better manners than that. Care to try again?" He replied sweetly.

"Alright! Alright! He's in Chicago, we have another base there. He's working with Caius. Some hotel front. Please, just let me go!"

"I'm sorry Demetri, I don't think I can do that. But I will make this a lot less painful." The smooth voice said just seconds before one last gunshot was sounded.

The smooth voiced man removed the empty magazine from his gun and turned to leave. He saw me standing at the door and froze.

"Bella? What are you doing here?"


	13. Ch13 Fire

**Chapter Thirteen: Fire**

_The smooth voiced man removed the empty magazine from his gun and turned to leave. He saw me standing at the door and froze. _

_"Bella? What are you doing here?"_

Edward looked back at me with unbelieving eyes. Shock was evident on his face.

"Looking for you." I replied simply.

"No! Bella, you are not supposed to be here." I could see the shock turning to anger.

"I couldn't let you do this. It's not worth it."

"Of course it's worth it, it's you!" he yelled back.

"Um, guys. Hate to break up the love fest but I think we should continue this conversation elsewhere." Jake cut in. I heard the building frame begin to crackle at the heat of the fire.

We ran to the back entrance and made it out just before the place exploded and the whole thing came crashing down. I looked back to see the flames licking up the remains of the building as it reach up towards the night sky. I saw the firefighters spraying the whole thing down, trying to keep it from reaching the tree line. Jake pulled me away and towards the car, knowing that I would be too enthralled in the flames to think clearly. We all got in my car and started to head back to the hotel. Nobody talked for a while.

"What the hell are you doing here. I thought I told you not to come looking for me." Edward demanded harshly, finally breaking the silence.

"Yeah, you also said you couldn't be found but here you are." I shot back. He growled. "Besides, I won't let you do this for me. Especially out of pity." He went to cut me off but one glare from me and he was silent. _Good boy._ I thought wryly. "Anyways, if anyone is going to kill that bastard it's going to be me."

"No." he growled.

"Excuse me." I demanded in a deadly voice.

"I said no you will not kill him." Edward replied smoothly.

I jerked the car to the left onto a road I would have missed had I decided to change my route a second later.

"What the fuck Bells!" Jake yelled from the passenger seat.

"Where are you going?" Edward demanded.

I didn't answer him, instead I flipped out my phone and punched in some numbers.

"Yes, this is Bella Swan. I would like to book a flight for three to Chicago... One hour would be perfect.... Thank you so much."

"What are you doing." Edward demanded, obviously questioning my sanity at this point.

"He's not just going to get away with it Edward."

There was a long silence.

"So I guess we're going to Chicago."

**Sorry this chapter was so short but you just got a double update so you can't complain. I'm still not sure if I really want them to kill James but I'm leaning more and more that direction every day. Maybe they'll kill Caius too! ... I just **_**really**_** don't like Caius. He wanted to kill Bella. Anyways, I'm going to try to post as much as I possibly can over my break beacuse when I go back to school things are bound to get hectic again.**

**Review.**

**Love,**

**Jenny C.**


	14. Ch14 Flight

**So this is the chapter where they get to talk everything out. Um, I don't know how long it really takes to get a flight from California to Chicago but in here it's going to be an eight hour flight. Deal with it. Happy Reading!**

**Chapter Fourteen: Flight**

"Fligh 1267 to Chicago now boarding!" the flight attendant called out. It was now 2:30 in the morning and it was still pitch black outside. We had all grabbed some coffee before the flight because we all knew that sleep would just avoid us. Our flight was relatively empty due to the hour, several middle-aged men in business suits all suffering from overwork and lack of sleep slowly made their way to the gate.

Everything was silent between the three of us. All slightly discontent with the other. Neither Edward nor Jake wanted me to kill James, but they also didn't want him to get away with what he did. And I was angry because they were being overprotective and slightly childish, each having wanted to kill him at one point but not wanting me to have anything to do with it. The truth is, I didn't want to have them do this for me. I didn't need them getting in trouble because of me. I just wanted them to be safe and by my side.

We boarded the plane and took our seats up in first class. We were the only ones there. It was kind of eerie in a way. The total silence. The tension in the air. All of it.

Before long we were up in the air and the flight attendant was telling us that it was now safe to move about the cabin. I was in the window seat with Edward beside me and Jake was in the seats in front of us. Not much later Jake had fallen asleep and it was just me and Edward.

"So are we ever going to talk about it?" he said after a while.

"About what?" I asked.

"What you saw at the club, why you're here, the letter, why the fuck you came after me... yeah any of those." he replied in a hard voice.

"I already kind of answered two of those and I think what I saw at the club was kind of self explanitory, so how about the letter?"

He sighed. "Of course you have to pick the hardest one."

"Did you really mean it?" I asked.

"Mean what?"

"What you said in the letter."

"Bella, I wouldn't have written it if I didn't mean it. Even if I have no clue what part you're talking about." he said looking extremely confused.

"You said that you loved me." I said. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Did you mean that?" He didn't answer for a while. I was about to give up when he finally looked up at me.

"Yeah, I did." He looked like it was the hardest thing he ever had to say. I smiled.

"Good. Because I kind of love you too."

His head snapped up and he looked like he was going into shock before he finally cracked a small smile. It didn't last long though.

"How?" he stated.

"How what?" I asked, confused.

"How could you love someone like me?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not exactly a good person, Bella. The scene at the club is proof enough of that. Hell, even the day out there in the woods when you came to find me is prof enough of that. You'd be much better off falling for a guy like Jake."

"You say that like I have a choice who I fall for. And how could you say that? I mean you went from Forks, Washington to Phoenix to fucking L.A. to find this guy because he hurt me."

"Yes, I came to kill him, and here we are on our way to fucking Chicago to try to kill him again!"

"It's not like he's a good person. Nobody will miss him anyways."

"He has a family Bella. He has a brother."

"Yeah and his brother is the one that told me where to go to find him, knowing full well that I was angry and the skills Jake and I posess. I'm pretty sure James is better off dead. The point is, you came here trying to do something good for someone else."

"Good? So killing is good? I thought girls were supposed to get flowers from their admirers, not fucking dead bodies."

"One: I'm not exactly a normal girl. And two: I meant that your intentions were good. You know save the damsel in distress kind of thing, even though I can save myself."

"But I did this so you wouldn't have to. I am not a good person Bella, and you are. I don't want that to be taken away from you. You're too pure to be stained by this. I'm not. And I won't let you join the stained people of this world if I can help it."

"But I'm not. I'm already stained. So what is one more sin if it's for the greater good? Maybe I can save someone else from having to go through what I did. Maybe, by being the bearer of the stains, I can save someone else from being exposed to it."

"That's exactly what I'm talking about Bella. You are doing this to help someone else. I'm doing this because I'm mad, and that vile fucking piece of dirt deserves nothing more than to die a long, painful death."

"Still, if I had told my dad what had happened he would have reacted the same way, and he is an all around good person. None of this prooves that you are a bad person at all. And why are you so against showing emotions? I just told you I loved you and all you could say was 'how'?! I fucking love you and there is nothing either one of us can do about it. And if you were telling me the truth, you love me too. Is that so wrong?"

He was silent for a long time. When he finally did speak, it was a whisper so quiet I almost thought I was imagining it.

"I love you too." he said. I smiled, and I fell into a peaceful sleep.

I woke several hours later to a light shaking.

"Bella wake up. We're starting our decent into Chicago." Edward said smoothly.

"Mmm, five more minutes." I said, snuggling further into my warm pillow. _Wow, I never knew airplanes could be so comfortable. _I heard some laughing and my pillow started vibrating. _What the.. Oh! _ I shot upright and found that my 'pillow' was actually Edward. And the vibrating was him laughing. I must have blushed twenty shades of red when I realized this. I fell asleep on him! Oh my god what if I talked! Looking up at Jake who was in fits of laughter and Edward who was a little more polite but was still about to burst out laughing I knew I had talked. And it must have been something horrible.

"What did I say?" I asked warily. They both shook their heads, refusing to tell me. "Oh god. That bad?" Jake nodded, bursting out in another fit of laughter.

"Come on sleeping beauty, Chicago awaits." Edward said with his signature crooked smile on his face.

_Joy. Chicago here we come._

**So I thought it would be better to end on a semi funny note instead of something intense. I'm really not sure if this chapter was any good because it was written all broen up at like twenty different times while I watched **_**Billy Madison**_** (which is a really funny movie by the way. Adam Sandler rocks!). So let me know.**

**P.S. Tell me if you want them to kill James or if he should die some other way (cause I really want him to die either way).**


	15. Ch15 James

Chapter Fifteen: James (Finally!)

BPOV

I blinked my eyes and waited for them to focus on the dark room. I felt a brief flash of fear and confusion as I took in my unfamiliar surroundings. The room was concrete and had a steel door. It was dark and cold but sunlight shined through a small, barred window that was high up on the wall. The events that lead me here suddenly flooded my mind and I struggled to breathe. They had met us at the airport, guiding us into the car with guns to our backs. He had known we were coming. My breathing picked up to near hyperventilation when I realized that neither Edward nor Jake was with me.

Suddenly there was a loud _click_ as the lock on the steel door was undone. The door was pushed open and Edward was thrown into the room. As soon as the door slammed shut and the lock clicked into place I was by his side. He had bruises and cuts all over and looked like he had been in one hell of a fight. My hands flutered uselessly over the injuries and a groan of pain escaped his lips.

"Oh my God, what happened to you?" I whispered. His eyes shot open.

"Bella?" He gasped.

"Yeah, I'm here. What's going on?"

"James, the Volturi, they knew. They wanted to have a little 'talk' with us. But you were passed out. Jake's still in there. They should be bringing him back any minute. He'll probably be worse off than me."

"Why?" I asked, confused. Anger boiling up inside me. _Nobody_ messed with my friends and walked away.

"He stood up to James for you. He chewed him out pretty bad. Now James is havin his fun 'teaching him a lesson'."

Just then the door swung open and in sauntered James dragging a well beaten Jake along behind him.

"Speak of the devil and he shall appear." I growled, glaring at James.

"Why thank you sweetheart. Glad to see you haven't forgotten me." James said with a smile on his face. The door shut behind him and he dropped Jake at our feet. I scrambled forward to check on him.

He groaned in pain, but was too weak and beaten to get anything else out. I growled again. Ferral. Pure Anger and Hatred coursing through my veins.

"Quite the care giver, aren't we Izzy?" He smirked. He knew I hated that name. All of a sudden something in me snapped. I wasn't Bella anymore. No, I was Izzy. A cold, hard, killing machine. Everything else in the world fell away. Lost importance. And everywhere I looked there was a slightly red tinge.

I embraced this new person who had taken over my body. At the very least she could probably get us out of here alive. She stood and sauntered over to James. He immediately saw the change in her and a proud smile spread across his face.

"There's my girl. I knew you couldn't stay away for long."

Edward growled and Izzy held up a hand to silence him. She had everyone in the room in a trance. Even Jake who was now coming back into consciousness.

"Let's go somewhere to talk." she purred in a dangerous, seductive voice. Edward growled behind her again, but this time she ignored him.

"Yes. Let's." James replied, turning to smirk at an obviously furious Edward.

She followed him down a long hallway without any resistance. James smiled to himself, knowing that in this state, he had complete control over her. He was so confident, he didn't even bother to restrain her. She willingly strutted behind him, following him to a large office with big, comfy chairs. She plopped herself down and put her feet up on the desk, grinning up at him from the boss's chair. James took a seat on the edge of the desk.

"So is there anything specific you wanted to talk about, or are we going to sit here staring at each other all day?"

"Hmm, the staring thing sounds good but I do have a few questions." Izzy replied playfully. Deep down inside where Bella was hiding, she nearly threw up.

"How many is a few?"

"Oh, only one or two thousand."

"Oh, well, if it's only two _thousand_.." James replied sarcastically.

"Well what did you expect? It's been a while." She said, looking innocent, though that was probably the last thing she was right now.

"Okay then. Shoot."

"What kind of operation do you have going here?"

James's eyes narrowed for a moment before he replied, debating whether she could be trusted. But in this state she was easy to handle.

"Ya know, the usual. Drugs, weapons, the whole lot. Even some hotels and shit. What, you looking for a job?"

"As a matter of fact I am. Think you can put in a recommendation?"

"We'll see. My turn. What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you of course." She smiled sweetly.

"Why?" he asked, barely hiding his suspicion.  
"Ah ah ah. My turn first. Why did you leave Phoenix?"

"Too many people after my ass. I was more of a liability there with a target painted on my back. Now why were you looking for me?"

She smiled seductively. "Because I missed you." Half truth, she missed catching him before he left and killing him in Phoenix. But she wasn't going to make that distinction. Not yet anyways.

He smiled. "I'll take you to meet Aro. It's your turn anyways."

**A/N: Whoa! I didn't even see that coming. This story's just running itself. Like it? Hate it? Next chapter up ASAP. My schedule is going to clear up a bit by the end of this next week so I'll probably update more. Reviewers get cyber cookies!!**

***NOTE: If you don't understand what's going on I put a little explanation below this***

**Izzy isn't like Edward's other personality, she's more like when a mother's kid get kidnapped and she does whatever it takes to get her kid back, it's like that. Edward actually has a different personality that takes over his body, though he is learning to control that. I'm not sure if you actually can control it in real life but my characters can. I'll probably have more on Edward's condition in the story next chapter. **

*****EVEN MORE IMPORTANT NOTE*****

**So, I know what I want to happen with the Volturi to an extent, but I'm kinda stuck after that. Any and all ideas are welcome. You might have to wait until you know what's going on in a chapter or two though. Anyways any and all ideas are welcome for all aspects of this story. Or even flames. **

**So I know it was short and had a lot of author's note but I did this last minute cause a lot of stuff came up. This is the last week of swim team though and things should run smoother after that. This chapter may not seem that important but it sets things up for what happens next. Next chapter has a lot of action. I'll try to do the pictures in my head justice. **

**MUCH LOVE,**

**JENNY C.**


	16. Ch16 Volturi

**Chapter Sixteen: The Volturi**

_Meanwhile back at the cell..._

"What the fuck was all of that!" Edward demanded, bewildered.

"That," Jake gestured toward the door where his best childhood friend just retreated with their enemy, "was Izzy."

"What in the HELL does that mean!" Edward yelled back, his irritation and anger growing by the nanosecond.

Jake sighed, staying amazingly calm through this ordeal, and his face took on a solemn look. "That's the darker side of Bella's personality. The side that's in control when she fights. Our Bella could never do any of that. She's too sweet. Until you piss her off and you have to deal with Izzy. It's not like a split personality or anything, she knows what's going on. She just disconnects all emotions, except maybe anger, and uses that darker side that we all have locked away in our minds."

"Can she stop it?" Edward asked quietly, wondering if there was any hope at all of getting out of here. Jake and him were strong, but they couldn't take on all of those guys, not one man short and with the obvious disadvantage of guns against fists.

"Yes, but usually only when she realizes she's about to hurt something or someone that she cares about. I don't know if she can control it, but her episodes have been getting better."

"How long is she usually out?" Edward asked, a little more confident in their survival.

"That's the thing, though. It varies so much, there's no telling how long she'll be out of it. It's been ranged between a few minutes and a few weeks." Jake paused. "Did you ever learn about psychology? About the Id the Ego and the Superego?" His question was met with a brief nod and he continued. "Well when she's Izzy she just acts on her Id instead of her Superego. It's just her mind's way of balancing out all of her good."

"What about James, though? Won't he take advantage of that?" Edward questioned, finding that the pieces were starting to fit together.

"Unfortunately yes. That's why he was so trusting of her, she walked out of here without being restrained at all. He knows how skilled she is, but he's convinced that she's on his side right now." Jake said, confirming Edward's suspicions.

"What do you think?" Edward asked more directly now, finally stopping and looking Jake in the eye as apposed to pacing around the cramped cell like he had been before.

Jake sighed. "I know our Bella is in there somewhere, but it's been so long since her last episode I don't know if she'll come back in time. I have faith in her, but James is such a manipulative bastard I don't know what she'll do. All I can really do is hope and pray she comes back to us."

Edward nodded silently. He stood there staring at the little trickle of light coming from under the door. And for the first time in his life, he prayed.

A moment later the door screeched open and in the doorway stood a slightly muscled man with short, black hair flanked by a monstrous guard on either side.

"Aro would like to see you." He said in a slight French accent. Apparently that was the cue because as soon as he finished saying that the two guards moved forward and dragged the two boys down the corridor to a large wooden door.

"He'll be with you any minute." said the French guy politely.

The guards opened the door and threw them to the ground, which was very hard, very cold concrete. They looked up and froze at what they saw. Bella- err Izzy- with James' arm possessively around her waist.

BPOV

James led me to a large room with three large chairs on a raised platform. A few moments later Jake and Edward were escorted in to join us. And when I say escorted I mean thrown to the floor with a loud _thud_ by some overly muscled dude in a tank top. I had to remind myself that this was a serious matter and that laughing was completely inappropriate. Jake looked up at me, catching my small smile, and gave me a questioning look.

My eyes flashed up at the guard and he followed my gaze, soon meeting my small hidden smile with one of his own. He caught Edward's eye and gave him a meaningful look. Both of them seemed to relax slightly, but tensed once again when they heard a door open and three sets of footsteps approach. They pulled themselves to their feet and stared straight ahead to meet their enemy head on.

The leaders of the Volturi were young enough, but all had this look and feel about them that they were much older than they looked. Not in years, but in experience and knowledge.

Marcus was slightly taller than average with dark hair that hung in his eyes. Even before any of them spoke you could tell he was the intense silent one. Caius was a bit shorter than Marcus, but was still pretty tall, he had spiked, blonde hair and was obviously the coldest of them all. Aro was shorter than his brothers of sorts, yet he held the most power, the most presence. He had dark hair as well that swept to the side of his face to reveal grey-blue eyes.

Marcus and Caius parted to the sides as Aro stood front and center. They all sat in their throne-like seats simultaneously. A spark of fear ran through me. These men were even calculating when they sat in a chair, there was no way that anyone would find us if something were to go wrong.

I tried to read their faces to see if we really stood a chance. Marcus sat there looking bored out of his mind. Caius looked like he was eternally pissed off. And Aro's face was mostly neutral except for the slight curve of his lips and the look of amusement in his eye.

"What do we have here? A new recruit?" Aro asked, eying me.

"Yes, probably. She is an old student of mine. She can be controlled." James responded, making sure to keep his eyes slightly lower than Aro's as a sign of respect. Even the Izzy side of me simmered a little at James' words. Aro didn't miss the flash of fire in my eyes.

"It looks as if she does not agree. Are you sure you can handle her? She does not look like one to be tamed." Aro questioned.

"She can be handled." James assured him. Marcus was staring at me with a confused look on his face and it took nearly all of my willpower not to squirm under the intensity of his gaze.

"Hmm. And what of these two? Did they not arrive with her?" Aro asked.

"Yes, but I do not know them. I do not trust them." James replied, venom seeping into his voice.

"What do you propose we do with them?" asked Aro. The other two had yet to speak, obviously not wanting to interrupt their brother.

"They are of no use to us. I propose that we dispose of them." James said coolly.

I'm not sure if it was my intense focus on not flinching or the fact that my Izzy side was never fully there or maybe it was the fact that he just threatened the lives of my loved ones. Either way, something in me snapped. I was not able to follow through with my plan to the end. James had been at ease, completely trusting that I would obey. So when my leg swung around and caught him on the back of the knees, he fell to the ground in shock.

Of course after a few choice blows he was snapped out of that and started to fight back. He started to reach for his gun, but then retreated, knowing that at this close of range it was either hand to hand or risk blowing your own foot off.

Out of the corner of my eye I could see Jake and Edward start towards us to jump in and control James, but Aro dismissed them with a flick of his wrist and the gaurds inched closer, waiting for the signal to take them down. Aro focused intensely on the two of us as we fought, I figured he wanted to see if I was as talented as James had claimed. _Oh I've got something for you Aro. _

I ducked out of James' way and backed up a few feet, taking on a more defensive stance. I internally smirked at James' smile of triumph. I waited for him to throw me a good shot before I made my move.

_JPOV_

Watching Bella and James fight was like watching a fucking train wreck; it was horrible and you wanted to look away, but you couldn't because you needed to see the final result.

Bella had backed away and was taking a defensive stance, a sure sign that she was fucked. I saw James' hand come out to hit her square in the face and watched in horror as she stayed still, not dodging the shot like she had been doing. At the last second her hand came up, blocking the shot and opening up James' weaknesses down the center of his body. She wasted no time in bringing up her other hand and getting James straight over the heart in the heart stopper move I had taught her in elementary school in case she ever got into trouble. Another quick blow to his chest knocked the air out of his lungs and he was down for the count.

I stared up at Bella in awe and Aro started clapping. I felt like kicking the shit out of that dude at that moment, but then thought better of it. Bella was in his good graces, James was down, and we had a small shot at getting out of here alive. Damn, I hope today is our lucky day.

A/N: No excuses. Next chapter already in progress. I'm working on a rewrite so I'm not sure about story lines or updates. Plus I'm out of town all summer so…. yeah. Updates are going to be on the fritz. Review please!

**XOXO,**

**Jenny C.**


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